Category Archives: Press Releases

Citing the importance of promoting and enhancing transparency in City government Inspector General Joe Ferguson today announced “Open Chicago,” a new transparency initiative. Hosted on the City of Chicago’s Office of Inspector General’s (OIG) newly redesigned website, the initiative is aimed at increasing the public’s understanding of City government and to further the OIG’s mandate […]

The City of Chicago Office of Inspector General (OIG) released a report today stating that the City publicly overstated savings realized from its furlough program by $11.05 million. Additionally, the OIG report found that the furlough program will result in increasing the funding shortfall of City employees’ pension funds by approximately $24.55 million dollars. “As […]

A former Chicago woman who provided extraordinary cooperation in Operation Crooked Code, a federal public corruption investigation of the City of Chicago building permit process, avoided prison and was sentenced on January 14, 2011 to three years of probation. The defendant, Catherine Romasanta, testified in four federal trials about how she paid bribes to city […]

In response to a series of investigations concerning violations of the City’s gift policy (Section 2-156-040 of the City of Chicago’s Ethics Ordinance), the OIG is recommending that the Mayor institute a City-wide “no-gifts” policy. “In examining gift related cases my office has investigated over the past year alone, it is clear that this recommendation […]

A City of Chicago building inspector was sentenced December 17, 2010 to three years in federal prison after being convicted at trial in September on bribery charges for accepting two $1,000 cash bribes from a cooperating contractor and demanding two $2,000 cash bribes from developers to approve inspections at residential and commercial construction sites, federal […]

A former general contractor was sentenced to 5 years of probation today December 13, 2010 in federal court. Padraig Gravin pled guilty to bribery charges on March 2, 2010 for trying to pay a $500 bribe to a City official. The bribe was meant to secure a favorable inspection related to the issuance of a […]